References

Battle Royale

Battle Royale(Japanese:バトル・ロワイアル,Hepburn:Batoru Rowaiaru) is a novel by Japanese writer Koushun Takami. Originally completed in 1996, it was not published until 1999. The story tells of junior high school students who are forced to fight each other to the death in a program run by the authoritarian Japanese government, now known as the Republic of Greater East Asia.

It was previously entered into the 1997 Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel competition but was eventually rejected in the final round due to its content. The novel became a surprise bestseller. It was ranked fourth by the 2000 Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, an annual mystery and thriller guidebook, and sold over a million copies.

In 2000, one year after publication, Battle Royale was adapted into a manga series, written by Takami himself, and a feature film. The film was also controversial and successful, with it being condemned by Japan's National Diet, yet becoming one of the country's highest-grossing films. The film spawned a sequel, and two more brief manga adaptations were also created.

Battle Royale (Magic: The Gathering)

Battle Royale was a Magic: The Gathering boxed set, the third compilation set, released in November 1999 as a collection of cards emphasizing the multiplayer aspect of the game. Most of the cards included are ones that can affect multiple opponents. This promotion included cards from all different sets that existed previous to it. The cards still retained their original expansion symbols although they were printed with white borders, which was the standard for reprinted Magic: The Gathering cards of "core sets" until the 2007 release of Tenth Edition. These are the only sets that are printed with white borders (which started with Unlimited.) Another interesting aspect is that colored expansions symbols were added to the cards that didn’t have them previously (namely cards from Tempest, Portal: Second Age, Stronghold and Ice Age.)

Battle Royale (American Horror Story)

Plot

Liz Taylor (Denis O'Hare) and Iris (Kathy Bates) head for the penthouse to shoot Elizabeth (Lady Gaga), who is with Donovan (Matt Bomer). Elizabeth, though shot multiple times, escapes the room while Donovan lays dying. Iris is upset because she did not mean to shoot her son. Donovan pleads with them to take him outside so that he would not die in the hotel. Elizabeth ends up with Sally (Sarah Paulson) who pulls out her bullets. Sally then reminisces about an old drug dealer of hers as well as a couple of musicians in the 1990s. Sally and the two musicians decided to get a room at the Hotel Cortez. There, they engage in a threesome mixed with drugs and Sally then sew the three of them together. Her two friends died in the process. Sally laid there for five days, with the Addiction Demon showing up and torturing her for three days. After the fifth day, she pulled free. Sally then tells Elizabeth that she does not want her, but John Lowe (Wes Bentley).